Prince Daddy?
by Queen2Hearts
Summary: Meet Gabriella, a girl who lost her father at a young age. She's a young mother looking for a place to call home. Then there's Troy, East High's GoldenBoy with a deep secret. He's a young man running from responsibility.
1. Chapter 1

A crisp white envelope, with 25 in it, crackled in my pocket as I walked the streets of our new home town Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mommy had just moved us here about a month ago and told me that I would be going to a school called East High. As I walked something caught my attention. Two boys were standing on the other side of the street engrossed in conversation with a blonde girl, a little taller than me. One boy, sporting a green "I Majored in Vacation" shirt and plaid shorts, had a large curly afro and broad smile. The other boy, with darkish sandy brown hair that fell into his ocean blue eyes, wore a white wife beater and a pair of sagging denim jeans. I looked at the girl and back at myself. She wore short shorts and a hot pink bikini top matched with some hot pink flip flops that showed off her French manicure, and her blonde hair fell past her shoulders. I wore a plain white v-neck shirt, a pair of old blue denim capris with paint stains and a pair of old dirty white sneakers with my brown curls pulled back into a bra-line ponytail. Shaking my head, I rounded the corner only to come face to face with two large Rottweilers baring their sharp teeth and snarling at me. I was scared and didn't know what to do, so I turned on my heels and ran only to have the dogs chase after me. As I ran back up the street, past the two boys talking to the blonde girl, I ran onto a pile of gravel and my feet slipped out from under me and I fell forward onto the sidewalk. I flipped onto my back just in time to see the dogs approaching and screamed as I covered my face with my arms expecting to be torn to shreds my stray rabid dogs. I did not, however, expect what happened next. As I lay on the ground waiting to be mauled by the dogs I heard a loud angry voice over the barking and blood thundering in my ears. I looked up and saw a pair of clear blue eyes staring down at me as the boy with the afro restrained the large dogs.

"Chad, take these dogs back to Kyra's and tell her to keep the damn gate closed." The blue-eyed boy said in an authoritative manner as he reached down and pulled me off the ground.

"Fine but you know you owe me 'cause I hate going to Kyra's place and you know it." The boy with the afro, Chad, mumbled as he guided the dogs, now trotting obediently by his side, back to their owner's home.

The initial shock wore off and I started to cry, partly because of the pain in my bleeding right knee and partly because when I got home mommy was going to give me such a thrashing for being so stupid. The more I gasped against the tightness in my throat the harder it became to breathe, eventually I got so light-headed I swayed on the spot and my savior caught me before I hit the ground. Again.

"Hey calm down, you're alright now." The boy said mopping at my face with his red hanky. He gently wiped my eyes and cheeks before clamping the hanky softly over nose and telling me to blow. I caught the scent of his cologne as I blew into the hanky. Old Spice with a hint of mint leaf. Putting the hanky back into his pocket, the boy brushed a strand of hair that had come loose from my ponytail behind my ears and as he did so his fingers brushed against the side of my face sending shivers up my spine.

"Thank you." I replied in a small voice mentally kicking myself for being so shy. Although truth be told I was painfully shy when it came to socializing with other people.

"Don't ever run from dogs like that. It'll give them the idea you want them to chase you. Just back away slowly and say 'No' like you mean it in a loud voice…you're new around here aren't you?" The boy asked observing my somewhat disheveled appearance.

"Yeah my mom and I just moved here a month ago. I'm starting school at East High next week." I replied with a sheepish smile.

"So you're the people who moved in next door! I was wondering who it was that took the Johnson house." The boy said snapping his fingers as a playful smile crossed his face, "Well come on I'll walk you home." He took my hand and started back down the street.

"Troy! Could you walk me home? There's something I want you to see. Besides, she's alright now." The girl said twirling her hair in seductive manner. So that was his name, Troy.

"Sorry, I've got to make sure this kid gets home ok." The blue-eyed boy, Troy, said pulling me with him as we walked up the street. I smiled triumphantly having been chosen over the blonde girl wearing the bikini, though I didn't much appreciate being referred to as a 'kid'. We'd managed half a block before my legs gave out and I collapsed on the ground, "Whoa there! You ok?"

He kneeled down beside me and inspected my swollen knee, "Can you walk?" I tried to stand up only to have my legs give out again. I shook my head, no.

"Well alright then. I guess I've got to carry you the rest of the way." Troy said kneeling in front of me as he grabbed my arms and pulled me onto his back hooking his hands in the underside of my thighs so my legs dangled in front of him.

"You don't have to…" I said in a small voice as we, or rather he, began to walk towards my house.

"How else are you going to get home? You obviously can't walk." Troy said with a warm chuckle shaking his head playfully.

We walked in silence until we reached my house. He set me down on the front steps and went to fetch the garden hose.

"This is going to sting a little Gabriella so bear with me otherwise your knees will get infected." Troy said pulling out his hanky again.

"That's alright. Wait-,"I inhaled sharply as the cool water came in contact with my knee, "-how did you know my name?"

Troy smiled playfully as he picked some of the pebbles out of my swollen knee, "You're necklace."

"Oh…" The necklace he was talking about was a present from daddy. It was the last present he gave me before he was killed and it held very precious memories for me.

Daddy died, or rather was killed, when I was ten years old in a convenience store shooting. He was an innocent bystander, in the wrong place at the wrong time. And my mother blames me for his murder, because the morning of said shooting I'd demanded milk with my Lucky Charms cereal. After daddy died mommy moved our family around a lot and we didn't settle down until I was about 13, but lo and behold 3 years later we moved again. This time to a little known town called Albuquerque in New Mexico. Of course by that time I was sixteen and the mother of an 11 month old baby boy. My mother's previous 'lover' had snuck into my room one night and decided to have his way with me. Naturally my mother didn't believe my story and shouted at me for 'seducing' her boyfriend and claiming rape later. But I digress.

Troy finished cleaning up my knee and turned off the hose. I was about to get up when he pushed me back down and pulled out a second hanky. A white one this time, with his initials TAB.

"Hold still, if we don't keep your knee covered while it heals it could get infected big time." Troy said folding the hanky into thirds and wrapping it around my knee twice before making a neat little knot in the corner.

"Thank you." I could feel myself blushing furiously as he helped me up.

"So are you going home now?" I shook my head and fished the white envelope out of my pocket.

"I've got an errand to run. I have to give this money to my mother's boss, Mr. Kirkland." Hearing the name caused him to frown a little.

"Your mother should know better than to send you to that man by yourself." I looked at him confusedly, "You'll know what I mean when you meet him. Come on, I'll go with you."

"You don't have to. Is he mean or something?" Troy shook his head and a wry smile appeared on his face.

"I want to. Trust me, you'll need me there. Ever since Teddy Kirkland inherited that shop from his parents he has a habit of, to put it delicately, harassing his female clientele. So next time you go see Teddy Kirkland for ANY reason, you come get me first." He had a serious look about his face so I could tell he meant business.

"I wouldn't want to trouble you every time I go there." He gave me the strangest look I had ever seen in my life. It was the kind of look that said, 'are you crazy or do you want to get yourself killed?'

"You wouldn't be. You can, and you WILL come get me whenever you go to see that man for any reason." I nodded in understanding and we continued to walk in silence for awhile.

When we arrived, Troy walked ahead of me and started to talk to the receptionist. "We need to see Mr. Kirkland."

"Mi dispiace, non parlano inglese. (I'm sorry, I don't speak English)" The woman replied shrugging her shoulders. I sighed to myself and stepped in front of Troy.

"Abbiamo bisogno di vedere il signor Kirkland. E 'il denaro su mia madre deve lui. (We need to see Mr. Kirkland. It's about the money my mother owes him.)" I said showing her the envelope.

"You speak Italian?" Troy said looking at me in shock.

"Duh. My dad was Italian." I shook my head and walked into the office with Troy on my heels.

We walked in and ran into one of his other female clients leaving the building. Apparently she was Filipino because she was cursing him out in Tagalog.

"Hulod daan!" I stifled a laugh as the woman stormed past and slammed the door behind her.

"What'd she just say?" Troy looked at my like I was crazy because I was trying my hardest not to keel over laughing.

"She just told him to drop dead." I shook my head and walked towards the man behind the desk.

"You speak Tagalog?" I nodded and tapped on the desk.

"Who's the little rag?" **(Apparently that's the racial slur for Filipinos. Who knew?) **I didn't really know what that meant but apparently Troy did because I suddenly felt a lot of tension in the room.

"Don't call her that." His tone was low and lethal. I looked down just in time to see him make a fist. So I made a split second decision to cut in before it was too late.

"I'm Gabriella Nicolato-Montez. My mother told me to give this to you." I handed him the envelope and took a step back.

"Your Anna's daughter? Tell your mother to deliver this in person next time. I want to discuss something with her." His eyes traveled the length of my body before he spoke again, "So how'd your mother get a pretty little brat like you? From what I hear, she gets around. I bet you don't even know who you're daddy is."

"We're leaving. Now." Troy grabbed my hand and yanked me out of there faster before I could even say anything.

"What a jerk. Is he always like that?" How could he be so callous and say such things about my mother? Granted most of what he said was true.

"Forget about him. So how is it you speak Italian _and _Tagalog?" I looked at him and smiled kindly. It was then, as we were walking back, that I realized Troy and I were still holding hands.

"My father was Italian, my mother is Filipino." He looked at me and smiled kindly at the expression on my face.

"Was?" I nodded and proceeded to tell him who my father was and how he had died. By the time we reached the front porch I was in tears. I had told him most of it but was careful to leave out the details about my son.

"Hey shh, calm down. I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked." He reached up and wiped away my tears with the pads of his thumbs.

"No, it's ok. I needed to talk about Daddy. Mama always said I looked like him." And it was true. I wasn't a homely girl but I wasn't that pretty either. From my father I had inherited his golden-brown tanned skin, his dark hair, and his chocolate brown eyes. From my mother I'd gotten her singing voice, her slim figure and petite size. But I was ok with myself and that was all that mattered. I didn't wear make-up and I didn't wear those tiny little articles of clothing like the blonde girl had.

"I'm sure you do. So do you live with just your mom?" I looked at him and decided that I owed it to him to tell the truth about my family. So I took a deep breath and began my tale.

"No, I live with my mom, her boyfriend, and my…," I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "…son Zachary Valentino Nicolato-Montez. Zac for short."

I opened my eyes and was surprised to find that Troy was still there. Maybe he wasn't like all the other guys I'd met.

"How do you have a son when you're only…" He trailed off not knowing how old I was.

"17 next month." I finished for him as we approached my house.

"Hey, what's on your porch?" Troy pointed to my front porch where my mother had thrown all my belongings (in a large box) and in the middle of everything, sitting on the box in his little bassinet was Nico.

"Oh my god! How could she?" I ran ahead of Troy and stopped in front of the bassinet and scooped a sleeping Zac into my arms. At that moment, Troy walked up behind me and peeled a piece of paper off the box.

"I think your mom just evicted you." He handed me the note and took Zac so I could read it. My mother had truly evicted me from my own home. The note said that she was kicking me (and my son) out because she was making room for her boyfriend's son to move in. She said that she didn't want me there in case I 'seduced' someone and then claimed rape. She also went as far as to say that I was no longer part of her family. I was officially on my own.

"God what am I supposed to do? I'm 16 for crying out loud! I don't even have a job! How am I supposed to pay for school _and _support myself and Zac? Where am I supposed to sleep? Tatay **(Daddy…I think)**…I need you so bad right now…" I sank to my knees and started crying. How could she do this to me? My own mother.

"Hey calm down Brie. For starters you can crash at my place until you find your own place. We'll work things out from there. For now let's go back to my place. It's getting kinda late." Nodding, I took Zac from him put him in his bassinet. I held the bassinet in one hand and was about to pick up the box when Troy beat me to it.

"You don't have to carry it for me…" I was too ashamed to face him at the moment. Because of my past and my mother I was about to lose everything. If I hadn't already.

"It's alright. Now come on, and stay close to me. Things can get a little ugly at night around here." I laughed a little because we were crossing the lawn not walking through a dark alley way.

"Ok…are you sure your parents will be ok with this?" I didn't want to impose and get his parents mad at me. That wouldn't be a good first impression. We got to his house and he pushed the door open revealing an empty two story house with no parents in sight.

"What parents? They live down the street. I share the place with Chad. And he'll deal with it if he wants a roof over his head and food whenever he wants." I giggled and followed him inside, plopping down onto the couch in the living room and taking a very alert Zac out of his bassinette.

"Hey peanut guess what? Mommy missed you." I kissed the palm of his hand and started to slip my shirt off grabbing his baby blanket as I did so.

"Whoa! What are you doing?" Troy had walked into the room just as threw the blanket over my shoulder and removed the left side of my bra.

"Breast-feeding?" I shook my head and laughed as Troy's lips made an O-shape and he came and sat down next to me on the couch.

"What are you doing Troy?" It felt weird saying his name out loud.

"Watching." I laughed and kissed Zac's tiny palm again as I fed him, "So…you never answered my question. How did this little guy come into the world?"

I turned to look at Troy and I knew I had to tell him the truth. He was the only person in the world I could rely on right now and I needed him to know that I trusted him and I also needed him to understand certain things. So, I took a deep breath, and regaled him with the tale of how little baby Zac came to be. I told him about the abuse, and I told him being raped by the man my mother was living with. By the time I finished my story, I was leaning on Troy's shoulder crying my eyes out…again. And he just sat there and held me as I cried. That was all that I needed him to do. Of course, I hadn't yet realized who he was, or rather who people thought him to be. All I knew was the sweet, generous, kind, caring side of Troy Bolton. But come Monday I was going to discover a new side of Troy Bolton. I was going to see two sides of him. The real Troy Bolton and Troy Bolton, Golden Boy.


	2. Chapter 2

Monday came faster than I had anticipated

Monday came faster than I had anticipated. I woke up three expecting to hear Zac crying for me to change him or at least feed him. Silence. Worried and curious at the same time I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and stifled a yawn as I shuffled down the hall towards the baby's room. What I saw made me smile. Sitting in the rocking chair, with my son asleep on his chest, was Troy sleeping soundly with a smile on his face. In the last few days, Troy and Zac had taken to each other faster and better than expected. Aside from me and Chad, who took a day and a half to warm up to the idea of a baby in the house, Troy was the only other male the baby was used to having around. Quietly I crept into the room and lifted Zac out of Troy's arms because it was time for his feeding and the baby was starting to wake up. Silently, I grabbed his blanket from the crib and walked into the living room, sitting quietly on the couch with a smiley baby on my lap. Zac had been feeding for less than five minutes when suddenly Troy came flying into the room yelling something about the baby being kidnapped. I sat there and watched him freak out a little more before I decided to stop him lest he woke up the entire neighborhood.

"Troy! Troy calm down! The baby is fine." I giggled and went back to feeding Zac who was happily drinking away at his milk.

"Geez Brie, are you trying to give me a heart-attack? Next time _tell_ me you're taking the baby." Troy sat down next to me and lazily draped his arm around my shoulders, or rather behind me on the head rest.

"I'm not going to wake you up at three in the morning to tell you that I'm taking the baby to feed him. Besides, what were you doing in there anyway?" I popped the bottle out of the baby's mouth and set it on the counter, gently adjusting the baby's head so that his chin was resting on my shoulder, and started to softly pat his back until I heard a tin burp.

"Zac started to fuss around one and you were still asleep so I didn't want to wake you up. I just got up and changed him and I guess I fell asleep while I was trying to get this little dude to sleep." He chuckled as I stifled a yawn and took Zac from me.

"Go back to bed. You've got at least another 3 and a half hours before we have to leave for school. I'll take care of him." I shook my head curled my legs to my chest with the soles of my ugg boots on the couch cushions.

"I'm not going." How could I? When I had been living with my mom, yeah alright, I was willing to part with my son for a few hours a day. But now that I didn't live with her anymore I had to go to school and find a job which meant I was gone pretty much most of the day and I couldn't bear not seeing him anymore than I could bear not thinking about my dad during times like these.

"What? Why not?" He looked at me incredulously with those blue eyes and for a moment I forgot what I was going to stay.

"I can't leave my baby home alone all day can I? Let's say I do go. Fine, that's eight hours already away from him. But I have to have money to support us don't I? That's another 8 to 10 hours away from him. I wouldn't get home until at least ten. And at the rate this kid is growing I'll probably have to work a double shift. That's an entire day away from my son. And depending on what they need I'll probably see him like three times a week. Four if I'm lucky. So tell me Troy, should I go?" I looked at him reproachfully with tears in my eyes. And I knew they were there because, well, aside from the fact that I could feel them there, Troy had this sad look on his face.

"Ok first of all you're not on your own here. You've got me, and Chad. And don't stress about the money issue. Take your time and look for a job you really like. Just find a part-time job for now though. Besides if you think about it, most places require you have at least a high school diploma so, you've got to at least graduate. Plus, I'll help you with all your financial needs and such. So don't stress yourself. It's not good for you or the baby. He needs his mommy to be in tip-top shape so she can play with him all the time." I smiled and kissed the side of Zac's tiny head.

"I can't lean on you guys forever. And besides, you're bound to run out of money eventually. I can't ask you to do that. I just…I just need a roof over our heads for now and once I get a stable job I'll be out of your hair." As much as I loved staying here, all good things come to an end and I wanted to make sure we, my son and I, would be ok when it all came to an end.

"Who said I'm going to let you leave? Besides, you've got plenty of time to find a good job and a decent home for you and your son. So slow down and take it one day at a time." He hugged me and lay back on the couch with Zac on his stomach, stretching his legs across my lap and patting the spot next to him. I rolled my eyes and settled down next to them, resting my head on Troy's chest. I listened to the steady sound of his heart-beat and raised my hand and brushed the hair out of Zac's face. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. He had clear blue eyes, my dark hair, a bright smile and chubby little cheeks that make you want to pinch them. He was my little professor, always curious about everything and an extremely creative, imaginative child. My beautiful little dreamer. As I lay there, I thought about how I'd brought an innocent child into the world and couldn't even protect him properly. I thought about how he would never be able to meet his grandfather, know how wonderfully he was or play with him. Then I thought about my father, my poor father. He would never meet his grandchildren, see me graduate high school, or college and he would never be able to walk me down the aisle at my wedding and watch me marry the man I loved. He'd never see me find my way in the world. As I all those thoughts raced around my mind, I remembered how much I missed him and how badly I wanted him here right then. I wanted to feel his strong arms around me in a comforting hug, and I wanted to hear him tell me that everything would be ok. I would have moved Heaven and Earth just to have spent one more day with him, with the father I desperately missed. I looked at my sleeping son and kissed his forehead as tears slid down my cheeks and wet Troy's shirt.

"I'm sorry baby boy. Mommy is so so sorry peanut." I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his. When I was absolutely certain they were both asleep I eased myself off the couch and walked over to the window on the other side of the room. I tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear and looked up at the night sky. As the moon bathed me in its light my eyes sought out a tiny shimmering star just to the left of the North Star. The star I sought out was the star Daddy had named after me for my 6th birthday, right before he died. I remember the night he showed it to me like it was yesterday. We were outside having a moonlight picnic when Daddy told me to look up at the sky. He pointed to the star and said, "Baby girl, my precious little Gabby, I named that star after you. So when ever you feel lonely or whenever you miss me too much and feel like crying just look up at the sky and find that star. That way you'll know I'm always right here. Happy birthday sweetheart." He pointed to my heart and pulled me into a warm hug.

I stared at the star for the longest time and I cried; I just stood there with my arms wrapped around me and cried. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore and I remembered a song Daddy taught me whenever I felt sad and I missed him. He said that singing it would make me feel better whenever I was down so I sang. Albeit it was more of a whisper but I sang anyway.

_Sha la la la la  
Sha la la la la_

You used to call me your angel  
Said I was sent straight down from heaven  
You'd hold me close in your arms

I loved the way you felt so strong  
I never wanted you to leave  
I wanted you to stay here holding me

I miss you  
I miss your smile  
And I still shed a tear  
Every once in a while  
And even though it's different now  
You're still here somehow  
My heart won't let you go  
And I need you to know  
I miss you, sha la la la la  
I miss you

You used to call me your dreamer  
And now I'm living out my dream  
Oh how I wish you could see  
Everything that's happening for me  
I'm thinking back on the past  
It's true that time is flying by too fast

I miss you  
I miss your smile  
And I still shed a tear  
Every once in a while  
And even though it's different now  
You're still here somehow  
My heart won't let you go  
And I need you to know  
I miss you, sha la la la la  
I miss you

I know you're in a better place, yeah  
But I wish that I could see your face, oh  
I know you're where you need to be  
Even though it's not here with me

I miss you  
I miss your smile  
And I still shed a tear  
Every once in a while  
And even though it's different now  
You're still here somehow  
My heart won't let you go  
And I need you to know  
I miss you, sha la la la la  
I miss you

_I miss you  
I miss your smile  
And I still shed a tear  
Every once in a while  
And even though it's different now  
You're still here somehow  
My heart won't let you go  
And I need you to know  
I miss you, sha la la la la  
I miss you_

As I finished the song I sank to the floor, curled my legs to my chest, buried my face between my arms and just cried. I cried for another 10 minutes before I stood up and straightened out my clothes. I took one last look at my star and whispered something before I turned my back to it and walked the 15 steps to my room, closing the door behind me. I laid down on my bed and clutched the teddy bear my father had gotten me for my 5th birthday tight to my chest as I started to drift off. I had no idea what would await me when I woke up.

**Thank you thank you thank you for the reviews last chapter!! I know ten reviews aren't a lot but hey it's something right? So anyway there it is. The next chapter. This isn't a filler. I wanted you to understand a little more about her and it pertains to the next chappie anyway. So ok review please!!**


	3. Chapter 3

I opened my eyes and was greeted by the sound of two people arguing just beyond the hallway, probably in the living room. I yawned, stretched out and sat up, examining my eyes in the bedside mirror. Surprisingly my eyes weren't swollen, just a little red but that would go away in a few minutes once I washed my face. Pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I slipped my feet into some fuzzy slippers and trudged down the hallway towards all the arguing. I'd turned the corner just in time for a pillow to barely miss my face.

"What's going on?" I looked from Troy to the red haired girl in front of him and immediately recognized my cousin Jolie.

"This chick just waltzed in to my house speaking French and I don't know any French." I rolled my eyes and glared at Jolie who shrugged her shoulders.

"Well excusez moi for not speaking English." Jolie possessed a beautiful French accent, one that I was incredibly jealous of. She had long red hair with blonde highlights, fierce green eyes, Angelina Jolie-Pitt's lips, long legs, and a fiery attitude. Which would probably explain why every French man was in love with her. She was gorgeous beyond belief. Jolie had come to the US to study abroad, courtesy of her rich parents, something I could only dream of doing.

"Troy this is my cousin Jolie. She's graduated already and volunteered to watch Zac while we're at school. For free. And Jolie this is my…uh…friend Troy. This is HIS house so play nice while I go get ready for school." I looked between them one more time before I walked back to my room.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for school too Troy?" I stifled a giggle as I heard Troy sigh and start towards his room. Fortunately for me I was already a few steps away from my room so I picked up the pace and reached my room, closing the door before Troy could say anything.

I'd taken less time than Troy to get ready so by the time he walked out of his room, in all of his faux-hawk perfected glory, I was already finishing breakfast and doing the dishes. Well, mine anyway. Chad had left early for practice so only Troy, Jolie, Zac, and me were left in the house.

"Do you ever let than ponytail down?" I rolled my eyes, talk about tactless.

"Only at night when I'm sleeping, otherwise it's up and out of the way." Maybe I should leave my hair down once in awhile. Brushing the thought aside I reached over the counter and shouldered my school bag.

"Whoa hold it. That's what you're taking to school?" Sure it was ancient and beat up but it still worked so hey whatever. I needed to save up and so I couldn't afford to spend money willy-nilly whenever I wanted to. Now that I'd 'moved' out of my mom's place I was on my own. And I needed to save every penny.

"Why? Is there something wrong with it?" I adjusted my bag and turned my attention to Jolie.

"Jolie you do remember Zac's schedule right? And you have my pager number in case anything goes wrong?" I loved Jolie but she was often forgetful so I wasn't going to take any chances. Not this time.

"Yes cousin I remember his schedule and I have your pager number. 5056823415." She rolled her eyes and resumed the 'grueling' task of filing her nails.

"Right, so I'll be home at 2:45. 3:00 the latest." Sure I was putting up a strong front again but Daddy always said, 'Don't show any weakness. Just keep your eyes on the prize and keep moving forward'

"Look Brie, it's not like I don't 'love' that bag of yours but don't you think you should get a new one? I mean that one is kinda old. What?" Did he not remember what happened last night? Did he not know that I had to save _every_ last penny? And since when did he start calling me Brie?

"Look, it's not like I could afford to buy a new one even if I wanted to. After last night, I have to save every last penny. And that means being extremely frugal with my spending. That means buy nothing unless it is absolutely necessary. Like food and diapers." Yeah I was being incredibly stingy but I had to if I wanted to put my only son through school and still have enough to feed us and put a roof over our heads.

"Uh hello? Incredibly rich roommate with plenty of spending money. How do you think I could afford this place? My parents? I think not. Look if you need anything, anything at all say the word and it's yours." I looked at my watch. 7:25.

"I appreciate the offer and I'll think about it. But right now its 7:25 and we have to go. Just let me say by to Zac and we'll leave." I was down the hall and halfway to the baby's room before he could say anything. Dropping my bag in the doorway I tiptoed into the room and leaned over the crib placing a light kiss on his temple. After making sure everything was okay I grabbed the extra baby monitor and my bag and walked out of the room only to run right into a human wall by the name of Troy Bolton who promptly seized my upper arm and yanked me the rest of the way out closing the door behind us.

"I just realized what you're wearing and we aren't leaving until you change into something at least semi-decent." I looked down at my current outfit. I was wearing an entire cameo outfit and black shoes, not the girliest outfit in the world. Before I could even utter a word I had been pushed back into the room, the door slamming shut behind me followed by a muffled voice, "Change your clothes! I'll meet you at the car."

I begrudgingly stripped myself of my current clothing and walked to my closet where I began the task of deciding what to wear. I was modeling another shirt when something caught my attention. I turned around and saw that my entire bed was filled with new clothes and jewelry. Shaking my head at the absurdity of the situation I picked out an outfit from the middle of the pile and changed. I looked at myself one last time in the mirror and then I was out the door. I quickly waved good-bye to Jolie closing the door behind me. The second I turned around my jaw dropped. My absurdly rich roommate was sitting in a beautiful black Mustang-Nitrous with white race stripes.

"I could walk you know. EHS is not that far from here." I jumped into the passenger seat and closed the door, buckling myself into place.

"What kind of roommate would I be if I let you walk to the same place I was going? A bad one that's what, by the way nice outfit." I playfully glared at him as I felt the color and heat rush to my cheeks at his compliment. I was wearing a black t-shirt with stars and two blue flowers in the bottom left corner, a cropped cream colored zip hoodie from UrbanOutfitters, dark skinny jeans, white and gold sneakers with matching wrist watch, my father's locket around my neck and silver hoop earrings. I wore eyeliner and just a touch of mascara to accent my brown eyes and very light pink lipstick with my pink sugar perfume.

"Thank you. Nice car by the way. The racing stripes were a nice touch." He smiled as we drove down the street towards school and chuckled.

"So I'm going to drop you at the front of the school, just go to the office and tell them you're a new student. They'll give you a map and a schedule and a whole pluther of useless papers. Keep the map and the schedule, chuck the rest. Oh yah and they'll also assign you a locker so be aware. It could be anywhere from the cheerleader turf to the jock area. If we don't see each other just meet me by my car after school. If I don't show just call my cell. I've taken the liberty of programming my number into your new phone under speed dial #1. See for yourself." I suddenly found myself clutching the new Blackberry Pearl in a platinum pinkish lavender color. I looked from Troy to the phone and back about three times before I pressed the 1 button on the phone.

"PapaBear?" I giggled a little at the name and stared at the picture set for the caller ID. It was a picture of my teddy bear with a T on its chest.

"Yeah, that's my codename. I've got you set for #2 under Mama Bear." I looked at him incredulously as we pulled up to the school.

"What? We have codenames now?" I smiled as I hopped out of the seat and pulled it forward to grab for my bag, which wasn't there. "Where's my bag?"

"Do you see that medium-sized black shoulder bag next to the blue binder in the back seat? That's yours." I gingerly picked up the bag and gasped. In my hands I was holding a limited edition Alexis Hudson Monaco zipper shoulder bag with a cute little phone pouch.

"But what about my other one?" I mean I loved my new one and all but it was really expensive.

"It's under your bed in a box. I switched your stuff while you were changing and had Jolie hide it for me after you left. You're a senior now Mama Bear. So you need to dress the part." And suddenly I realized what I was wearing. UrbanOutfitters hoodie and shirt, Rock&Republic skinny jeans, Marc Ecko shoes, and real platinum hoop earrings. Still in shock, I grabbed my new bag and binder and closed car door, slipping my new phone into its new expensive pouch. I couldn't, didn't, want to believe it but Troy was spending money on me and a lot of it. I pushed the thought into the back of my mind and walked through the front doors of East High.

As I walked down the halls I saw the blonde girl from the day before giggling and talking with a group of guys. The moment she saw my bag, she gasped and put a hand to her mouth. Not wanting to stick around for the reaction I picked up the pace and turned the corner just in time to avoid an earsplitting shriek followed by, "How did that nobody get her hands on the Limited Edition Amanda Hudson Monaco zipper shoulder bag when I couldn't?! And did you see what she was wearing?!"

I made a mental note to avoid the girl at all costs and ducked into the office before anything else could happen. I reached into my binder and pulled out a file folder as I approached the counter.

"Hi, my name is Gabriella Nicolato-Montez and I'm a new student. These are my transcripts and registration forms." I handed her the folder and watched her enter my name into the system.

"Ah yes here you are. But we have you as Gabriella Montez. Is that alright?" I thought about it for a second before responding.

"Yes that's fine." I didn't want to give the poor woman a hard time so I decided to just be Gabriella Montez.

"Alrighty then, I'll put these away. Here is your schedule and a map of the school. And you will be assigned to locker 932. You'll be sharing with someone else since we don't have enough for everyone to have their own." I thanked her and walked out of the office with all my information. I walked a little ways down the hall and came to a halt at locker 932. Standing there, sifting through his locker was my absurdly rich roommate.

"It can't be. There's no way…" I looked from the locker assignment sheet to the number plate and back. Curses. I was sharing a locker with Troy Bolton. All hopes of just blending in with the crowd was out the window and I knew so because the moment I had gotten out of Troy's car every girl within viewing distance gasped and said "Why is she in the car with Troy?" He wasn't just anybody. He was THE Troy Bolton.

"What can't be?" Apparently he'd heard me because he looked out from his locker and took the assignment sheet from me. "Huh what do you know? Well I guess I'm your new locker mate. Hey, what's with the face?"

I shook my head and deposited my books in his, excuse me, _**OUR**_ locker. "Nothing."

"So who are your first four teachers?" I hadn't looked at my schedule yet so I just gave it a quick scan and recited the first four names listed. "Darbus, Finnerty, Celeron, and…Bolton?" What the heck? Was he a teacher?

"Looks like we've got the first four classes together. Don't worry I don't teach. The Bolton on your sheet is my father. Well, onto Drama/Homeroom. Darbus will start reciting Shakespeare if we're late." He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me down the hall and straight into our first class.

"Yo Darbus, this is the new girl. Gabriella Montez." Ms. Darbus was, in a manner of speaking, one of the oddest teachers I had ever met. And the large circular owl glasses didn't help either.

"Hello." The woman was stared at me like I was an alien or something for a good 30 seconds before speaking. By that time Troy had already taken his seat in the back of the class next to his good friend and right hand man, Chad.

"Ms. Santander kindly vacate that seat. Ms. Montez you will sit back there next to Mr. Bolton." I mentally slapped my forehead and walked down the aisle to my seat.

"Howdy neighbor." I was about to say something when the bell rang so I shut my mouth and directed my attention to the front of the class where my new teacher was currently having a breakdown.

"Was that a cell phone?!" Half the class, including Troy Bolton, snickered and cleared their throats.

"Neanderthals." I turned in my seat to see who the source of the comment was. About two seats behind me an African-American girl wearing a 'uniform' was tapping her fingers impatiently on the desk and glaring at Chad and Troy.

"Brainiac." Chad Danforth's brilliant come back.

"SILENCE!! Let us begin today's lecture with the topic of Homer and his most famous story, The Odyssey." Almost instantly each and every student, except me, whipped out a laptop or side-kick to take notes. I had just reached into my binder for paper when I heard a dull thunk and looked up. There, sitting on my desk, was the Apple Mac Book pro. One of the most expensive laptops in the world and I knew who it came from.

"Troy how could you? You shouldn't be spending this much money on me." Not that I didn't appreciate it but this was all too much. How was I going to pay him back later?

I was about to say something else when an IM box appeared on my screen.

_**Papa**__**Bear: Chillax MamaBear. I don't mind, besides it's not like I don't have the money. And I won't take any money from you so don't even bother trying to pay me back.**_

I huffed and typed my response.

_**MamaBear: That's not the point!**_

_**PapaBear: Then what is?**_

_**MamaBear: You shouldn't spend this much money on me. It makes me feel bad…and a little guilty X**_

_**PapaBear: Why should you feel bad? Or guilty? It's not like you asked me to spend any money on you. I just did. Because I want to help in anyway I can.**_

_**MamaBear: Not like this. What if your parents find out? Won't they be mad?**_

_**PapaBear: I'm living on my own with my best friend in a two story house with a girl I just met and her barely one year old son. You think they care? If they did we wouldn't be sitting here right now.**_

_**MamaBear: Then where is all this money coming from?**_

_**PapaBear: Grandparents in a distant country. The feel guilty because they don't see me enough or something like that.**_

_**MamaBear: How would they feel if they knew that their grandson is spending the money they gave HIM on a pathetic girl who got herself knocked up at 16 and her son?**_

_**PapaBear: They would think it's noble of me. You're not pathetic and it wasn't your fault you were knocked up. It was that sleaze bag boyfriend of your mom's**_

_**MamaBear: We should finish this conversation later. I don't think we should be instant messaging in class. The teacher wouldn't like it.**_

_**PapaBear: Look around teacher's pet. How many people are ACTUALLY taking notes?**_

I looked up and saw that he was right. Only two or three students were actually taking notes. The rest of us were playing games or IMing each other.

_**MamaBear: I am not a teacher's pet! And I'm going to feel extremely guilty if your family finds out about your spending spree and yells at you.**_

_**PapaBear: I did it of my own accord. My own free will. So don't worry about it. Just accept the gifts and say thank you every once in a while.**_

_**MamaBear: They'll think I coerced you into doing it. Or worse, I seduced you for your money. What if they think I seduced you, got knocked up, and had Zac just to trap you?**_

_**PapaBear: Calm down. My grandparents aren't that irrational. Neither are my parents. My idiot brother Derek maybe. My sister Janie yes. My parents and grandparents no.**_

_**MamaBear: You have siblings?**_

_**PapaBear: Both younger. Derek is 13 and Janie is 2. Not quite old enough to understand much but they are pretty smart kids.**_

_**MamaBear: Your brother is 13? I have a brother his age. His name is David. But he lives with my grandparents for some reason. I never understood why. Then there's my 8 year old step brother James. I also have a sister a little younger than Janie. Her name is Chloe. She lives with my Uncle Javier but I baby-sit sometimes. Oh hold on I think I've got a new email.**_

_**PapaBear: Sure thing. Take your time.**_

I opened the message that had popped up on my screen and almost screamed out loud as I read it. As I finished the message I slapped a hand to my forehead. This couldn't be happening to me. Not now, at the worst possible moment.

_**PapaBear: What?**_

I shook my head and forwarded the message to him after erasing the last part of it.

_**MamaBear: See for yourself**_

To whom it may concern:

It is with our deepest condolences that we inform you of the recent passing of your grandparents Jaime and Estella Nicolato, your mother and stepfather Anna Rosalina Montez and Stephen Aaron Farmer, and your paternal uncle Javier Antonio Nicolato. In accordance to their written wills, and due to the fact that the mother of one James Aaron Farmer has passed away, as of 3.16.09 you have been granted sole, full custody and guardianship of James Aaron Farmer, David Augusto Nicolato-Montez, and Chloe Adrianna Nicolato-Montez.

A service will be held at the Church of Light on 3.22.08 at 5:30pm after which, also in accordance to their wills, they will be cremated and their ashes spread into the ocean.

Also upon further inspection of their written wills, dated 2006, you have been given the overall sum of 25 million dollars. You have also been given partial ownership of the Ralph Lauren and Juicy Couture Shoe companies (**AN: not that it's even possible) **and the Versace, Hugo Boss, and Gucci fashion company.

Lastly, you've also been left some other assets, including several checking accounts, a country club, a private jet, a house in Europe, a beach house in California and Hawaii, and a Hotel in the Bahamas. You also have a yacht and some land in the Caribbean.

However as of recent discovery you were also left a debt and henceforth 5 million dollars of your inheritance has been reclaimed by the bank.

An attorney should be by within the week to sign over all assets and give you your inheritance. Also until it is deemed unnecessary, a social worker from ACS will stop by once a month to check up on you and the progress of the children in your care.

--Albuquerque District Attorney's Office

_**PapaBear: Holy crap. **_

_**MamaBear: You think? God, that's two toddlers, a young child and a teenager under one roof. Kill me now.**_

_**PapaBear: And you're responsible for all of them…**_

_**MamaBear: I need to get some air…I'll see you next period…**_

I closed my laptop and stuck my hand in the air to get the teacher's attention.

"Yes Ms. Montez?" I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"May I go to the restroom?" Say yes.

"Can you not wait five more minutes?" Not unless she wanted to see my breakfast.

"No ma'am it's an emergency." I could feel my self starting to hyperventilate. I needed to get out and fast.

"Well, alright then. See you tomorrow." I thanked her and scurried out of the room carrying the laptop, and my binder and bag.

I'd gotten halfway down the hall when I realized I didn't know where I was going. I glanced around and I saw the stairwell entrance. Hoping it would lead me outside I quietly opened the door and walked up the stairs for a good five minutes before coming to halt in front of a door with a sign that read ROOFTOP. I pushed it open and was caught off guard by what I saw. I was standing in the middle of a greenhouse built on top of the school. Setting my stuff down on a nearby bench I walked over to a landing that extended off the roof and I just stood there and took in the beautiful scenery. The garden overlooked Albuquerque's South Valley and gave a bird's eye view of the canyon below. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath inhaling the scent of fresh strawberries and my favorite flowers, lilies. And then I smelled chocolate. I opened my eyes and turned around thinking someone was there but there was nothing except some exotic flowers and a lot of miniature cacti. The bell had rung a long time ago but I hadn't gone down. I didn't want to sit in another stuffy classroom, I couldn't. Not with all these thoughts running through my mind. I was about to turn back towards the Valley when my laptop started to beep. Assuming it was another important message I sat down and opened up my laptop and saw that I had another IM from T-Bear.

_**PapaBear: Where are you and why aren't you in class? People like you don't ditch.**_

_**MamaBear: People like me? What's that supposed to mean?**_

_**Mama Bear: I don't know where I am.**_

_**PapaBear: Smart people. Teacher's pets. Nerds. Geeks. You get the idea.**_

_**PapaBear: What do you mean you don't know?**_

_**MamaBear: I resent that! I am not any of what you said. Except the part about smart people.**_

_**MamaBear: Exactly that. I have no idea where I am.**_

_**PapaBear: Well it's true. You are a teacher's pet. **_

_**PapaBear: Where do you think you are? What do you see?**_

_**MamaBear: Am not. Stupid jock.**_

_**MamaBear: I'm sitting in some sort of green house on the roof of the school. That's all I know.**_

_**PapaBear: Ouch MamaBear. That hurts.**_

_**PapaBear: I know exactly where you are. And don't worry about class. The first few days after break are always review days anyway and I'm pretty sure you can get the notes emailed to you from one of your fellow nerds/geeks.**_

_**MamaBear: Whatever. It's not like I don't already know the stuff anyway. You on the other hand I don't know. **_

_**Mama Bear: Now stop slacking off and pay attention so you can learn something.**_

_**PapaBear: Hey I'm smarter than you think. Oh dude I am so out of here.**_

_**MamaBear: No you're not! I will not be responsible for you failing Calculus! **_

_**PapaBear: Fine, I'll be responsible for me failing Calculus. So chill. Not like my parents give a crap about me skipping class anyway.**_

_**MamaBear: Whatever. Just don't blame me for it later.**_

_**PapaBear: Sure thing.**_

_**PapaBear is now offline**_

I shook my head and closed my laptop. I hadn't really been paying attention to what I wrote because I was too busy trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I had just become the single mother of four. A part of me resented my mother for doing this to me but another part just wanted my parents back. I would have given anything to go back to the time when Daddy was still alive and we were a happy family. I was so deep in thought that I didn't hear the door open and I didn't notice that there was an extra body in the room. In fact I didn't notice anything until everything had gone pitch black.

"What the-?" Suddenly I was blind and groping around the feel for something solid. And I found it. My hands went back and landed on something hard and "lumpy". As I went up I counted how many bumps. 1,2,3,4,5,6 and then I hit something else. "Who is this?"

"I'll give you one guess." I shivered as his warm breath hit my neck and his hands slid to my shoulders turning me on the spot to face him. Suddenly I was looking into two pools of clear blue.

"Troy what are you doing here? Why aren't you in class?" I would have been lying if I'd said I didn't want him there. Truthfully I was glad for the company, and even more so that it was Troy.

"You tell me. At least I showed for the first 15 minutes." He smirked and sat next to me on the bench.

"Oh hush. You know I have a lot on my mind right now and I could care less about classes." I glared at him playfully.

"So what are you going to do?" I looked out at the Valley and sighed.

"I doubt you can fit more people into your house so I guess we're going to have to start looking for another place…" I trailed off not really wanting to think about what I would do when I got home and three kids were waiting on my porch.

"Dude, I live in a two story house and there are currently four residents. I have like seven bedrooms. There's just enough room for them." I groaned and ran a hand through my ponytail.

"I can't ask that of you Troy. And besides I'm going to need my own car so I can drop James and David off at school." It's a good thing I just inherited 20 million dollars.

"Already taken care of. You've got a car waiting for you at home." I whirled around and looked at him incredulously.

"You didn't!" He didn't! Did he?

"I've got a friend at the Lexus dealership. I managed to get a Lexus Rx 350 for half the original sales price." He dropped the keys into my lap and I felt the color rush to my cheeks.

"A Lexus? Do you know how-wait half price? As in 50 off?" How could he afford all this? Oh right, he's absurdly rich.

"Yep. Oh crud there's the bell. We'll finish this chat later. Celeron will kill us if we're late to his class." He grabbed my hand and hauled me off the bench.

"Wait! My stuff!" He rolled his eyes at me and scooped my stuff into his arms.

"Can we go now?" I nodded and we were out the door. We got about halfway to class when it finally occurred to me why the cheerleaders were giving me the evil eye. I was holding hands with Golden Boy Troy. God of East High. I learned the full extent of his reputation on my way to the roof when I overheard a few cheerleaders talking in the gym.

We turned the corner and suddenly I felt my hair tie give way. The next thing I knew my waist length ebony curls were tumbling down around my shoulders and guys were whistling at me from all directions. And the embarrassment only got worse when we walked into History together and I recognized the blonde girl from the day before.

"Troy! Why are you holding hands with that freak?!" Instantly his grip on my hand tightened and his face turned a little pink.

"Oh she…uh…" I couldn't let him throw away his reputation over me. I had to do something.

"I got lost and he offered to show me around. It's my first day." There goes any hope of making a name for myself.

"I see. You may leave us now." I may leave them now? What am I, a servant?

"We'll talk later Sharpay. Class is about to start." He turned and pulled me to the back of the classroom where there were two empty seats next to none other than Chad. We sat down right as the teacher walked in and pulled out our laptops.

_**PapaBear: Sorry about that MamaBear. Stay away from that blonde girl at all costs. She's not one to mess with. If she does anything or says anything to you let me know and I'll take care of it.**_

_**MamaBear: That's ok PapaBear. **_

And so my rollercoaster school life had begun. And the day hadn't even ended yet. This was going to be the longest half hour of my life.

**So there it is. Woot 13 pages!! That should hold you, my loyal viewers, over whilst I update my other stories. Okies, so review please!!**


	4. Chapter 4

I looked over my shoulder and for the fourth time that day I caught Troy looking at me with a weird expression on his face

_**Later that day…6**__**th**__** period**_

I looked over my shoulder and for the fourth time that day I caught Troy looking at me with a weird expression on his face. Like he was contemplating whether or not he should ask me something.

**MamaBear: What are you looking at? You've been staring at me for the last 20 minutes!**

**PapaBear: I wasn't staring. I was just thinking how much better you look with your hair down.**

**MamaBear: No seriously.**

**PapaBear: I was-am-being serious. Your hair looks good down; I don't know why you always keep it up in a ponytail.**

**MamaBear: Because it's convenient that's why. And plus I think it looks hideous down.**

**PapaBear: Well it doesn't.**

**MamaBear: Sure.**

**PapaBear: Hey what are you doing this Saturday?**

**MamaBear: Why?**

**PapaBear: Because there's an event**

**MamaBear: What event?**

**PapaBear: Basketball Award Dinner thing**

**MamaBear: And….**

**PapaBear: Wanna come with me? I'm supposed to bring someone.**

**MamaBear: Why me?**

**PapaBear: Why not?**

**MamaBear: What, do the guys think you have a girlfriend or something?**

**PapaBear: More like a fiancée. They think my parents arranged a marriage for me to some hot 'exotic' girl.**

**MamaBear: Seriously? So why me and not the blonde girl?**

**PapaBear: Because you fit the criteria and I would rather scratch my eyes out than sit through a dinner with her.**

**MamaBear: Well, I s'pose I can at least do that for you since I'm living under your roof and your spending all this money on me anyway. But what am I going to wear?**

**PapaBear: I've got you covered. ;D**

**MamaBear: What do you mean by that?**

**PapaBear: Wait and see.**

**MamaBear: So why do your friends thing you're engaged?**

**PapaBear: Because I won't date any of the girls at this school. None of the popular ones anyway.**

**MamaBear: Seriously?**

**PapaBear: That and my dad just so happened to let it slip that he got me 'engaged' to some exotic chick. Go figure. I guess that's his way of protecting me.**

**MamaBear: Do you and your father not get along or something?**

**PapaBear: It's a long story. I'll tell you later. By the way the guys are coming over after school to watch the game on the big screen.**

**MamaBear: Wonderful. Just what I need. And how exactly do you propose I explain the children that have recently come into my custody and my son?**

**PapaBear: I hadn't thought of that…here's what you're going to tell them.**

**MamaBear: What am I going to tell them?**

**PapaBear: You're the oldest of five kids but your parents recently passed away in a tragic accident so you, being the oldest, got full custody of the kids. If they ask anymore questions I'll answer them. **

**MamaBear: And us living together?**

**PapaBear: You're my fiancée and you moved in after your parents died. **

**MamaBear: Then let the hoax of the century begin.**

**PapaBear: Oh by the way you have a lot of cooking to do.**

**MamaBear: I know, I know. The usual football stuff. I got it. **

**PapaBear: Just making sure. No practice today so I'll come home with you and help out.**

**MamaBear: ok.**

I closed the laptop and looked at the clock. 2:15. I sighed and packed my stuff away into the purse that Troy had gotten me and put my laptop into its case just as the bell rang. I had just gotten up when suddenly something knocked into my shoulder and I tripped over my own two feet. Everything happened so fast I didn't have time to understand what had happened. My bag flew out of my hand and hit Chad on the head, my laptop bag skidded across the floor and landed at the feet of a blonde boy and I myself went flying forward. I almost hit the ground when I felt a pair of arms around my waist.

"Nice going Brie. I swear, sometimes you can be such a klutz. You ok?" He smiled teasingly at me as I tried to regain my balance.

"Oh hush. You know that was an accident." I smacked him on the chest and went to pick up my bag when I felt a sharp pain in my arm and winced. This didn't go unnoticed by Troy who promptly started inspecting me for any injuries.

"What? What is it? Where does it hurt?" His blue eyes scanned my body as his hands moved gently up and down my arms sending a small shiver down my spine.

"Guys, chill, I'm ok. Nothing's wr-ouch! Ow Troy stop!" He drew his hand away from my upper-arm and I saw blood.

"Chad go find a large roll of gauze and some medical tape." With that Chad bounded off towards the nurse's office as Troy tended to the cut on my arm.

"Troy seriously its ok. It's not that-ow-bad." He'd rolled up my sleeve and revealed a medium-sized cut which he tried to stop from oozing blood.

In a matter of moments Chad was back with the first-aid kit and all the students remaining in the room were quite literally gawking at us. I felt the heat and color rush to my cheeks as all the girls left in the class, including the blonde girl, glared at me while Troy cleaned and dressed my wound. Out of the corner of my eye I caught the blonde girl glaring at me and whispering to her friends.

"Troy its ok. I can just put a band-aid on when I get home. It's seriously no big." Silence. Troy Bolton was ignoring me. I watched him in silence as he wrapped my arm with the gauze and sealed it off with the medical tape. I looked up and saw that the blonde girl had approached and was breathing down our necks.

"Wow Montez nice going." Sneering she turned to Troy, "Hey, Troy can I get a ride home?" She twirled her hair and waited for an answer from the blue-eyed boy currently inspecting my arm for further injuries.

"Sorry Sharpay," He grabbed my arm and gently slid me off the table while everyone else watched on, "I'm already giving someone else a ride." Obviously the "someone else" was me. Ignoring the protests from the blonde girl Troy and Chad guided me out of the classroom and to the car.

The entire drive home was actually pretty pleasant except for Chad continuously reminding us that he was hungry, all the way home. Even when we were on the doorstep.

"Dude! We get it! You're hungry!" Chad looked at Troy indignantly before he huffed and folded his arms across his chest, pouting like a child as he waited for Troy to open the door.

"It's ok Chad. I'll make you something to eat after I was up. Alright?" I ruffled his hair and followed Troy inside where I got a major surprise. I was in the middle of setting my stuff down by the door when I heard Troy yell something.

"Holy cow. Brie what happened to your cousin?" I looked up to see Jolie sauntering towards us with Zac balanced on her hip.

"Oh my-Jolie your hair! It's exactly like mine…but you got highlights. And…you pierced your belly button!" I couldn't believe my eyes. In one day my beautiful cousin Jolie had gone from hot to hotter and I knew because Chad was practically drooling over her.

"I took Zac and we went to that little boutique in town Le Petite Salon de Coiffure. I even bought him a couple of cute little baby clothes. By the way there are three kids waiting for you in the TV room." Nodding, I took Zac from Jolie and turned to Troy.

"Could you come with me for a second?" He nodded and followed me to the TV room where we were greeted by the sound of a baby crying. I turned the knob and almost instantly little David was in my arms. James however just sat there and stared at the wall with little Chloe in his lap.

"Sorella Gabby! Ti ho perso! **(Sister Gabby! I missed you!)**" I smiled and knelt down to eye level with David as Troy walked over to James to relieve him of baby Chloe.

"Ho perso anche voi Davy. Questo è il tuo nipote Zac. Hi dire. **(I missed you too Davy. This is your nephew Zac. Say hi.)**" As David held Zac and played with him I walked over to Troy and James who were currently talking about video games while baby Chloe fidgeted around on Troy's lap.

"Hi Chloe," She couldn't quite talk in fully sentences yet but I could tell she was happy because she kept repeating Gabby, miss you, and happy over and over again. "Hi James. Remember me?"

"Gabby!" I smiled and ruffled his hair as David came over and sat down next to him again.

"Si tratta di Troy, e questa è la sua casa. Egli è stato abbastanza carino a farci stare qui fino a quando posso trovare il mio casa. Hi dire. **This is Troy, and this is his house. He was nice enough to let us stay here until I can find my own house. Say hi.**)" I pointed to Troy, and then to the house as I explained to him where we were.

"Ciao fratello Troy." Smiling, he stuck his fist out and watched Troy eagerly.

"Umm…Ciao…fratello Davy." He bumped fists with Davy and offered a slightly awkward smile before leaning over towards me, "What did I just say?"

"You just said 'Hello brother Davy'. And he said 'Hello brother Troy'." All of a sudden he got this look of pure relief on his face and smiled. Apparently he was an only child and the prospect of having two younger brothers pleased him, "Oh shoot I forgot about Chad! What time is the rest of the team showing up for the game?"

"I think they said like 4 or 5. Why?" My eyes widened and I almost screamed.

"4 or 5!? Oh my god Troy! That's in like two hours! Do you know how long it takes to cook a meal for a team of hungry basketball players? Especially on football night? Here take Chloe. Keep the kids in here and entertained until I'm done cooking." I pushed Chloe into his lap and was gone before he could say a thing.


End file.
